Teething

I have officially entered a new little phase in Eli's life: the teething phase. I have many questions like, "how long does this last?" "how many teeth does he get?" "will he ever be the same again???", but really none of those answers will make this situation for him any easier. I just feel so bad for him! He has this one tiny white speck on his bottom gum and if you feel it, that tooth is razor sharp! And it's like he's trying to be upbeat about it (I'm his mom...I can tell! haha...) but he just gives in after a while and just has to cry. poor thing...

haha...getting this picture was really hard.
I promise there is a little white speck on the left side where his gum is a little red

But, it does seem like we are kind of more on a schedule now. And I didn't even read Baby Wise! ha! I'm sure that book has so many really awesome qualities in it and I just got too stubborn to read it. Actually now I'm more interested in reading it because I haven't been verbally assaulted with it in a long time. :) The reason why is (with NO exaggerations) almost every time I would talk to someone when Eli was a newborn they would say "you MUST read Baby Wise! you have to get him on a schedule right away!!" Well, I can usually handle unsolicited advice, but the Baby Wise cult was becoming too much for me. And it's a shame too because it's like with everything, it seems like only the fundamentalist Baby Wisers speak out and shove it down your throat. I know there are many responsible Baby Wisers out there that read the book, like the book, use the book, may even offer the book to someone if they are in need of help, but they don't attack people with the book. ok... stepping off my soap box... sorry about that.
Back to the "schedule" (please note that I'm just rounding off these times here) but so far today, this is how it's gone. I'll add more later so I can have some idea of our new "schedule". :)

Wake up time: 7:00 am
Breakfast: 7:30 am
Play time/walk: 7:45-9:50
Nap #1: 10:00-12:00
Lunch: 12:15

Don't call CPS

I think Eli might be getting a little big for his swing. He's figured out how to make it swing faster which to me equals more dangerous... which, for a 6 month old, is pretty crafty, but for his mother, it's way too scary. That would mean his father took this video. There is another one that is scarier which will not be posted...yikes!

Everything changes

This has been a crazy couple of weeks:

1. I started my summer graduate classes at Amberton. I'm taking Issues and Ethics on Tuesdays and I'm taking Research Methods online. After these two I will only have 18ish more hours left. Whoo hoo!

2. Eli turned 6 months old on June 18! He is now sitting up and loves to do so! Tummy time has once again become a complete disaster since as soon as you put him on his tummy he rolls over. :) He had his 6 month check up on Wednesday and he is a giant!

Head: 70th %
Weight: 21.5 lbs. (95%)
Length: 29" (above the 95%)

So, in 6 months he has tripled his weight and grown 10 inches. Wow. He is getting so big! Oh, and he's getting his first tooth! You can feel this really sharp white dot on his lower gum. Now, teething has not been too much fun. He handles it pretty well I think, but he has been more fussy than his normal chill self. I seriously can't believe how fast he is growing.

3. Wes let Jeff Johnson shave his head...

4. This was Wes' only week home for the summer so we kind of packed in a lot of stuff this week:

- my car battery died took it to get fixed
- my air conditioner vent broke and my hubcap came off... took it to get fixed (twice)
- I had class
- I had a homework session for my online class
- I got a hair cut
- Eli had a doctor's appointment
- Wes went and got his glasses
- Ebony had to go get her shots
- Pest Control sprayed our house
- Wes sold our broken lawnmower on Craigslist
- Wes sold a bunch of other stuff on Craigslist
- we had a date night and went to see Get Smart *loved it!*
- FedEx and UPS came to our house a total of 4 times this week and it was always during Eli's nap time
- Wes cut down this bush in our backyard
- Eli started eating rice with bananas for breakfast and we introduced him to carrots

5. oh, and I went to Austin with my parents because my dad might get a Superintendent job. But I did get to ride a mini scooter at my aunt's house! ha!

So... our lazy life of luxury week that we had planned did not happen. BUT we sure did get a lot done and that really does make you feel good. :)

The band sound checks for YEC tonight and they play tomorrow and then leave again on Monday!

Pictures to come :)

Eli's first camp

This is a video of me trying to convince Eli to turn over. haha... he knows how. You just barely touch his shoulder and he does the rest... but, he can be pretty pitiful!

We got to go hang out with Wes and the band at Super Summer this past week and had such a fun time! Basically I took a whole bunch of pictures of Eli :) Enjoy!

Babysitting Ellie

On Friday night I packed up Eli and went to Meredith's house to get ready to watch Ellie. We were so excited because we really haven't been able to spend any good quality time with sweet little Ellie since she was 4 days old, and she's now 2 1/2 months old! And hello, if those two are going to get married, they better start spending some good time together! :)

So we made it to Mere's around 4:00 and the Patterson's showed up right around that time to drop her off and fill us in on all things Ellie.

Ellie is so funny because she LOVES to be bounced in her little pink chair. And not just little soft bounces, she likes the big deep bounces! So cute!! Anyways, the kids were really good the whole time! Eli did lots of eating and peeing. Ellie did lots of bouncing and stretching and all was good until...

the end of the night. Eli had been awake since 3:oo, and Ellie had been awake since at least 4:00. It was now 9:45 and the breakdowns were beginning. Meredith and I were packing up the kids to meet Rach and Steven at their hotel. Eli was beyond his breaking point and Ellie had had enough of the bouncing and stretching. We loaded up Eli in his car seat and he began the "I'm passed the point of just tired, I'm now exhausted" scream crying. Then Mere climbed in the back seat next to him, with Eli on her right. Then we loaded Ellie on her left into her car seat. And probably from Eli's mental breakdown, Ellie started cry screaming as well. I ran back into the apartment to grab something and when I came back, Mere was sitting in the middle of them with this funny stressed look on her face and the two kids were screaming. hahaha... I was laughing so hard. I wish OH how I wish I would have tortured them a little longer to take a picture, but I decided just to start driving.

Not long after that, they were both happy and asleep. And Mere and I were happy and quiet. hahaha... It was really funny actually.

Here are some pictures from the night:Ellie in the magical pink bouncy chair

Mere and Eli play time
he kept staring at this water on the ground...
hahaha... Eli peed on Mere's crotchso sweet Ellie!
he's either trying to comfort her or he's making a move a little too soon
Eli loved Steven!

Love is in the air

Yesterday one of my sweet friends from college, Scott, got married to his beautiful fiancee, Lyn! The wedding was beautiful and they looked perfect! I haven't been to a wedding in a long time so it was so much fun to go! Plus, it was like HSU reunion'08 so that made it even more fun! I drove down with Meredith which is always a good time, and on the way, she got a call from our other friend Laura who was in a "wreck". You see, Laura got to the wedding early so she decided to go get gas. On her way, she accidentally hit a mail truck and had to wait until the main mailman got there to assess the damage. It was nothing serious, but it was really funny. Laura has a thing for hitting servicemen. In Austin one time she ran into an ambulance. So people in the service industry, look out for Laura!

Rachel and Steven were there to be wedding singers again. It's like it is their other part time job. :) If you haven't heard Rachel's voice before, it his heavenly. Meredith can sing like an angel too... Mere! You should post some songs up!

Anyways, Eli stayed at home with my in-laws who came in town! He loved it, they loved it, and it was a great time! But, baby Ellie was at the wedding and looked SO cute! She did great! She slept through the whole service and let people hold her and take a million pictures of her and everything! Such a sweet girl! Here are some wedding pics:Mere, Me, the groom: Scotty Too Hotty, Rach

Yeah... us....

Me and Rachy

Rach and Ellie. So sweet!

Me, Mere, Kim holding Ellie, Laura the postman slayer, and Rach

so sleepy...

After I got home I got to spend a little time with Wes' parents and our brother in law, Robert, and it was fun! When they left Wes and I decided it was date night and dropped Eli off at my parent's house and went to eat at On the Border. YUM! It was really fun and exactly what we needed. When we dropped Eli off, dad had a little surprise for him:
The band leaves again tonight, but Eli and will get to go visit them this coming week since they are playing in Texas! Yay! I love summer.

The ants go marching one by one...

So somehow we have ants. They are only in one room, the computer room where I'm sitting right now, and there isn't even any food in here! They are freaking me out and making me mad... I hate ants.

Today was our last day of work! Yippee! We were done at noon and then we go to graduation tonight. Very fun! I can't even begin to describe how amazing I feel right now. It's like having a big long list of things to get done and finally finishing it. I love that feeling... These are some flowers two of my boys brought me yesterday! Thanks guys!

So I'm still waiting on Eli to do his magical roll over by himself again. I even started questioning myself like... did I really see that? But I did! I did! I know I did! So... I'll just keep waiting!

I took him up to school for about 30 minutes today. He is just so precious! And, he got meet Makayla which was adorable! She grabbed his little hand and it was precious!

And now that it is summertime, I'm starting to get pumped up about getting toned. Losing weight is annoying, but I am way past caring about the number on the scale. I need muscle and I need it bad! So, that's what I'll be working on thanks to The Firm and 24 Hour Fitness. :)

Everyone always told me that Ebony (our sweet dog) would be put on the back burner when the baby was born. I never ever believed anyone, but honestly I do feel like it's kind of true! :( Wes and I have been trying to be more intentional about playing with her and giving her a piece of our time. We love you Ebony!

Still breathing

Well hello friends! Yes, I know it has been much too long! It's been a very time consuming few weeks so let me fill you in as best I can!

Wes
The band left on Sunday for the summer. The good news is that he will get to come home for about a day a week! Yay! And, there is one entire week that they have off! I'm so proud of them and they are doing great, but I miss him so much already! It also gives me yet another dose of huge respect for single moms! (I know I'm not single baby!)They are now on GodTube so go check them out: Jeff Johnson (way to go Jeff!)

Ellie
I finally got to go see Rachel and Ellie again! They now live in Athens, which isn't too far away, so I went down with Eli to Rach's baby shower they threw for her! I'll get you pics!

Look at those blue eyes! So adorable!

She's so tiny! I love her!

Yes, I am a ballerina -Ellie

Eli

Eli is doing so great! He's still huge! I took him up to school last Friday and it was so much fun! They could not believe that he was such a big baby! Who knew something that came out so small (7 pounds 1 oz) could get so big so fast! (20 pounds!!) He is still not even attempting to crawl, but he did ROLL OVER all by himself just the other day! He hasn't done it since without assistance, but I was freaking out! Yay Eli!Here he is in a high chair for the first time! haha.. not so sure about this...

Eli in his new bouncing thing toy... which he loves!

the old car seat that he's too big for now... :(

here is his new big boy car seat :)

School
Today is the last day of school for the kiddos, and tomorrow we work the morning and go to graduation that night. I cannot believe summer is finally here! But you know, this really was a good year. This is the first year I have taught where in those final days of school, I wasn't sick and tired of my kids! I know that might sound bad, but it really was that way for me the other years. It probably wouldn't have been that way last year, but those pregnancy hormones were pumping! Anyways, I'm super excited about graduation. I know it's kind of annoying to go to, but I really do love seeing our kids graduate! Proud of you seniors '08!

Graduate School
Well I am still rocking the 4.0! hahaha... I don't quite now how. But, this summer I'm taking my Research Methods class. It might be the demise of my nice, clean A. We will see... I'm hoping to be entirely done with my course work in the Spring of 2009, and then just have my internship hours to get over with.

New Job
Ok! I have a new job for next year! When I say "new" it's not really new... you'll see. To keep this story short, I'll just hit the high points. My principal approached me about a possible half time position that was in the works. Apparently, a retired teacher was going to come in and teach 3 classes. That opened up another 3 classes to be taught half time because a full teacher teaches 6 classes. So, they offered me 3 AP Psychology classes to be taught all in a row, and then a conference period. So, if they keep the schedule as it kind of sort of is right now for next year, school starts at 9:00 and I will be done at 12:32. Isn't that so fantastic?! I will still get retirement, benefits, and a year towards my teaching! This is seriously the HUGEST answer to prayer. All of your prayers were truly heard and I thank you all for praying. Once again I am reminded of how little I trust the Lord when I fret over something like this. I am so humbled by Him.

Ok... Eli is laying awake in bed and I think he's done talking to himself because he's getting louder! hahaha... I will be much better about posting and I'll come back and add pics! Love you guys!